Al Qaeda operative arrested from Mewat in Haryana

New Delhi: A 32-year-old man from Haryana's Mewat district has been arrested by Delhi Police for suspected links with al Qaeda, fifth arrest in its ongoing operation against the terror outfit, police said today.

Abdul Sami, was arrested by Delhi Police's Special Cell from Nuh town in Mewat. He was brought here and produced before a court which remanded him in police custody till February 1, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep said.

Sami, a native of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, is alleged to be a key operative of al Qaeda's module in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS), police said.

On January 6, the Special Cell had arrested Maulana Anzar Shah, a cleric from Bangalore, for alleged links with AQIS. In December, they had arrested three suspected AQIS operatives.

While Mohammed Asif (41), the first one to be arrested from Seelampur in Delhi, is believed to be one of the founding members and the head (amir) of AQIS's motivation, recruitment and training wing, another operative Abdul Rahman (37) was arrested from Jagatpur area of Cuttack in Odisha.

The third suspected AQIS terrorist to be arrested was Zafar Masood, who allegedly acted as a financier for the module. He was arrested from mohalla Deepa Sarai in UP's Sambhal district. Shah, the fourth to be arrested, had allegedly met Mohammed Asif at a religious congregation inBangalore, following which he was introduced to Abdul Rahman and Zafar Masood.

He was asked provide logistical support whenever the need arose, said an official privy to the investigation. They were all booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police have yet not disclosed Sami's role in the module.